Hipster Bar Candidate #2: Susie’s

There are very loyal Susie’s boosters. I suppose I sit on the fence when it comes to Suzie’s Pub. To be sure, it’s got some exemplary qualities a hipster might look for in Albany: an unassuming location, dive feel, and always, whenever I’ve gone there in the past, some sort of passion play happening in the corner cushioned seat area.

It was always on my list of Hipster Bar Candidates, but in light of your comments, dear readers, I pushed it to the top of the list. How did Susies [sic] stand up to the Rubric? Could it be considered, that rarest of birds, a Genuine Hipster Bar in Albany?

Find out after the jump.

The Albany Hipster Bar Rubric

Name of establishment: Susie’s Pub

Address: 8 Delaware Avenue, “near the chicken place”

Time of day: intermittently between 7pm-11pm

Customers present: 10-30

Category Rating (20 each max)

Décor: Dive bar, older fixtures, no more than two large-screen TVs, cheap old man beer options, no blender drinks/16

The evening I visited, there were three heavy-set young men at the bar, drinking beers and not talking about sports. A plus. One fellow was dipping snuff and had just started what looked to be a pint-sized, three-olive martini. There was one couple who looked like they might have qualified as hipsters: a bearded man with arm tattoos and a preppy woman. Later, a dude with what can only be described as a “happenin’ mustache” arrived, girlfriend in tow. Both were carded at the bar, but the girlfriend was older than he was, surely past the drinking. It’s these moments when a lady is charmed rather than annoyed. Three snaps in the air.

The TouchTunes jukebox was off at the beginning of the evening, and no music was playing from an iPod or, god forbid, a DJ. When it was turned on successive visits, I wasn’t sure it was a good thing. The thing about TouchTunes jukeboxes, after all, is that it’s not a curated jukebox per se. Sure, there are albums on the frontmost menu-layer of choices, with the annoying feature of offering only the hits from each, rather than deep album tracks (a minus for music nerds, if not also hipsters). But for an extra charge, you can access any song by any artist, like, ever.

And so to be completely fair, it’s not the jukeboxes that is rated in the above rubric; rather, it’s the Susie’s clientele who chose them and which songs they picked.

The evening started out with some country songs, thankfully not the same old Johnny Cash choices amateur country fans tend to pick. Someone picked Texas Swing, for example–a plus. But then the choices turned to 90s grunge nostalgia, and things got obvious. Hole’s “Celebrity Skin,” for example, was blasted by what seemed to be legislative aides. A couple of Pixies songs. Closed your eyes, and you were in Café Hollywood. Or Larkfest when they had money to book 90s bands. Both are not goods thing for the aspiring hipster.

On the plus side is Susie’s large outdoor seating area, both to get away from the jukebox and for those who cling to the habit of smoking may have a free exchange of ideas. Out back, a woman in horn-rimmed glasses and hair in a bun read from a book by herself at one of the eight tables. One surprise: Susie’s offers wifi. This is a feature I did not anticipate for this Rubric, but it should be a plus—hipsters have iPhones, after all. I asked the barkeep, an aloof but ungorgeous man in a light purple polo shirt, what the Susie’s wifi password was. He didn’t know, and offered to make a call.

“She’s usually asleep around now,” he said. I urged him not to do that.

Long story short, I’ve gone before and I’ll go again. That’s why I gave it a B- grade rather than a C+. Susie’s is a cozy place in the winter, and it’s run by the same person as the supergreat Café 217 down the street. If you are a hipster or young person or non-punter who wants to avoid the studenty, hair-gelled bustle of Lark or Pearl, this should be on your circuit.

8 Responses

I was there around that time. I think I showed up around 9ish. The patio also makes it a great place to be in the warmer months. And if you are without air conditioning you can cool down considerably when they have the a/c on.

@2…that’s why I go to the Lionheart??? Are you serious? What you are claiming to hate is ALWAYS at the Lionheart…not to mention heionus music and zero room to move.

On another note…the great thing about Susie’s is that it stays open much later than most bars downtown.

And if you are really looking for David Lynch-esque interactions + interesting neighborhood locals, try the Palais on Jefferson…if you’re brave enough to venture down that way. That place has so much character.

Daniel, I probably would like it too without the people. I prefer most places without a huge crowd of people. When I go to a bar I prefer a laid back atmosphere that’s not at full capacity otherwise I’d be at a “club” Also, Hearing any music that is by and/or sounds like Nickelback is almost an immediate deal breaker.

The Nickelback comment is unrelated but i reeeally loathe their music & any bar that plays them, in my opinion should be disqualified from the hipster category.